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Pyrebird returns to normal form, concentrating all his power on taking the onrushing flames and dispersing them harmlessly into the sky above him. He holds his arms out wide as he hovers, channeling the flames then taking them away from their fuel source.

The flames chase Dragster out of the building and are funnelled into Glare's construct, concentrating the flames. Pyrebird raises his arms, commanding the inferno into the sky where it harmlessly burns away like a massive blowtorch belching into the air. Just as it appears Liberty Force will be able to snuff the flames and save the surrounding buildings, a loud crack and groan comes from the apartment building. A moment later it collapses, sending out a shower of brick, broken glass, and embers in all directions!

The inferno was reduced to 1d but burst back to life on its turn!

As the smoke and dust clears, you all see the neighboring buildings are ablaze, set alight my the embers of the collapsed building!

"Step aside heroes, and let us keep this town from burning to the ground," a firefighter says as he shoves past with an axe in hand and a determined look on his face. His teammates shuffle towards the fire as well, shooting Liberty Force looks of amusement or dissapointment as they pass by to battle the spreading flames.

The Chief pulls up and looks around with an expressionless face, chomping on his cigar. "Where's Laguna?" he asks gruffly, ignoring the chaos of the fire. You direct him to the EMS truck where the paramedics are tending to his wounds. "Good enough," he says as he walks back to his car. "Get him to the station so we can talk to him."

The fire is in good hands now that the fire department is on the scene. We'll have a couple of days to cover IC talking between the characters, the criminal you all caught, Laguna, and the Chief. I'll post a summary of events later!

Each member of Liberty Force gets 2 Comp Dice as a reward for accomplishing (most) of their mission in Scene 1. Congrats!

Benito Laguna is delivered to the police station via the ambulance. By the time he arrives he is conscious and talking, though he won't be on his feet for days.

The suspected bomber is an out of work plumber named Phil Phillipson. He has a history of minor criminal infractions, but nothing that would suggest he would attempt a hit on an informer!

I'll give you guys until tomorrow to initiate the investigation. If you don't want to/aren't sure what to ask, I'll have one of the detectives do the interrogation and just give you guys whatever info he digs up. Hopefully we'll get to Scene 2 (of 3) early next week! Thanks for being part of my game.

The detectives get to work, debriefing Laguna as medical personel make sure that he's stable. After the meeting he's sent under heavy guard to a military hospital a few hours away, hopefully out of reach of whoever wants him dead.

Phil Philipson immediately begins to work on a plea bargain. He's a low-level scumbag who got wrapped up in something bigger than his abilities could handle and is quick to sell out everyone he knows, even turning in his own brother for stealing cable from the local cable company.

A few hours later, Detective Dee and the Chief walk into the conference room. "You's guys wants the good newses or the bad newses," Det. Dee asks in his annoying accent that adds an "es" to the end of everything. Before you can answer he throws down the evening edition of the paper, the headline reading "Liberty Force Stands By As Historic Homes Burn!" Under the caption is a photo of you guys just as the delapidated building crashed to the ground.

"The good newses is, you's guys is a joke," he sneers as you read the headline.

"Enough detective," the Chief chides then grabs the paper and tosses it in the garbage. "You guys did what you were supposed to do, got our informant out. Getting this Phil character, not bad either." He stops to light his cigar. "We don't pay you to be firefighters too," he growls to the detective who raises his hands in mock protest but keeps his mouth shut.

"Here's what we have: Laguna was working for The Family before this war started. Figured out he was on the losing side. Decided to join up with the winning side. He said he never met the rival boss, Stripe, but he was supposed to go do a job at the docks tonight. Guard a shipment coming into the bay, then escort it to a big meet and greet somewhere else," the Chief spits out the facts in his stilted speech.

"Phil Philipson. Use to be a legit plumber, lost his job, been unemployed for the last year. Says he was desperate, talked to some guys about getting into mob business. Says they gave him Laguna's name, address, and some explosives. Told him to take him out, then come meet them at the docks tonight so they can introduce him to the big boss. Guy named Stripe too."

Glare, chafing under his armor, says to Dee "Knock off the digs. My IQ is higher than your paycheck. Yeah, we didn't handle the situation that well. At least we tried. Had you been there by yourself, you would have done nothing, and waited for the Fire Department to show up, and the damage would have been worse. I volunteer to do this, cause I don't draw a paycheck. So unless you have something actually useful to add, shut the **** up"

Turning to his team mates, Glare says "Let me know when this ******* is gone, so we can start making actual plans", then strides out of the conference room"

Pyrebird stares long and hard at Dee, his eyes filled with fire. Words of fire appear above his hand, each lasting long enough for Dee to read...assuming he can do so; "I'd like to see you or a firefighter channel fire up into the sky to vanish. Without us there I guarantee the damage would have been greater." Finishing his flaming (literally) dressing-down he waits to see what the others have to say, arms crossed over his chest and his eyes not leaving Dee for a minute.

Once you guys are done taking jabs at one another, things move quickly. From what you can gather a boat of some sort is coming into the harbor later tonight. Phil is able to give the police the dock that he was supposed to meet up with Stripe's men at; it's a neglected area of the harbor that is seldom used, perfect for illicit shipping activities...

Fortunately for you guys, the police have ownership of a warehouse seized during a drug raid a few years back that is directly across the street from the dock. The layout allows you all to enter through the front of the building then set up at the other end facing the docks, putting you all about 50 yards from the location. By midnight you all are in place with a small team of detectives and Port Authority personel who are on call to shut down the harbor once contact is made in case the boat tries to flee.

The Port Authority also has a two man team operating a u.a.v. high above to monitor the situation and track whatever vehicles leave the area, hopefully leading back to Stripe (and his gathered goons!) The Chief makes it clear, he wants to allow whatever is getting shipped in to be loaded up and sent on its way BEFORE Liberty Force moves in to take down the boat and its smuggler-crew.

Coffee is brewed and seats taken as everyone sits back to wait for the rendezvous....

It's midnight; Phil and Laguna both indicated they were to meet up at the docks around 1am so you all have an hour to sneak around and do your thing, get prepped, and ask questions. I'll reply to any actions/questions here, but expect for the Rendezvous scene to get fired up Friday!

Right on schedule the Port Authority personnel alert you all to an unknown fishing troller moving into the bay. They keep an eye on it via their u.a.v. and verify that it is heading to the unused area of the harbor near your hiding place. Shortly thereafter a van pulls up to the dock and a pair of burly men step out and await the boat's arrival.

Things move quickly; the boat ties off at the dock and half-a-dozen armed men appear, all carrying AK-47s and each wearing a dull orange ski mask. "Copperheads," the Chief whispers as he peers out the dingy warehouse window at the scene unfolding across the street.

"And they are...?" one of you asks.

"Not known to do business with mobsters." He chomps on his unlit cigar a moment before deciding to offer more information. "They're socialist revolutionaries of the worst sort, kicked out of the IRA and Ireland in the mid-90s. Didn't believe in diplomacy, upset that peace was on the table. From what I understand they've been supplying communist rebels throughout Africa and Southeast Asia. Never heard of them running guns for any other reason..."

Seeing your questioning looks the Chief gives a rare smile. "Wasn't always a cop," he says by way of answer.

The Copperheads outside hurridly unload a great many crates from the boat's hold, stacking them on the dock. The two burly men, not in too big of a hurry, load half of the cargo into their van before it becomes obvious that they'll have to make another trip to pick up the remaining cargo. You can't hear the conversation, but it is obvious that one of the smugglers is aggitated that they failed to show up with the ability to take all the cargo in one go. Shortly thereafter the van pulls away while the Copperheads take to pacing around the dock near the boat, waiting for the men to return.

The PA men are able to follow the van quite easily using the thermal sights of the u.a.v. The Chief tells you that the plan is, once the van makes it to its destination, presumably Stripe's hideout, Liberty Force is to take down the smuggler's boat, then hit the drop off location.

Tense moments pass as you all hope that the Copperheads don't get spooked and head out to sea while waiting for the van to come back. Ten minutes after it left, the Port Authority confirms that the van has pulled into a junkyard across town and men are unloading the crates!

"Liberty Force, you're up," the Chief says as he stands by the doors facing the docks, ready to throw them open on your signal!

Initiative gentlemen. What you can see so far is a group of Copperhead Mooks (3d) and a Copperhead Leader (3d)...enjoy!